Thicker Than Water
by Caz Malfoy
Summary: Slight AU. Mac and Claire had a son when they were eighteen. But he was kidnapped right and they never saw him again. Until Danny Messer arrived at NYPD. COMPLETED
1. Prologue

_Disclaimer: I don't own CSI NY._

Summary: Mac and Claire Taylor had a son when they were eighteen, but he was kidnapped and they never saw him again. Until Danny Messer arrived at the NYPD

Thicker Than Water

Prologue

Eighteen-year-old Mac Taylor looked through the window into the baby ward. His emotions were conflicting as he looked down at his newly born son. He was petrified more than he had ever been in his entire life. He had been due to ship out with the Marine Corps when he found out that his new wife, Claire, was pregnant. Mac had managed to arrange it so that he could stay with Claire throughout her pregnancy and the birth of their child, shipping out a few months afterwards. All of a sudden he had this other life to take care of and he was petrified he would screw everything up.

The rest of Mac was insanely proud. He could feel the pride bubbling inside him when he looked down at the beautiful baby boy that was slumbering peacefully. He still found it hard to believe that Claire and himself had created the small miracle of life that he was looking at.

"Mr Taylor?" a male voice said softly as someone stepped up beside him. Mac turned his head to look at the doctor he had last seen checking over his wife to ensure that she was okay after the excruciating labour she had just been through. "Your wife's asking after you," the doctor informed him.

Mac nodded his head. "Thank you, doctor." He tossed one last in the direction of his son before heading into the direction of Claire's hospital room.

"Hey," Mac greeted, pushing the door open and smiling at Claire.

Claire smiled wearily at her, exhaustion written all over her face. "Where is he?" she asked.

Mac crossed the room and sat in the chair next to Claire's bed. "He's sleeping," he told her softly. "He's gorgeous."

Claire smiled wider. "He takes after his father," she smirked.

Mac laughed and took her hand in his. "He has your eyes, though," he whispered, pressing his lips against the back of her hand. "What do you think we should call him?" he asked. "I know you have something in mind," he smirked at the look of innocence of Claire's face.

Claire blushed and looked away from him bashfully. "I was kind of hoping that if we had a boy we could call him Daniel."

Mac looked at her curiously. "After your dad?" he asked, knowing that Claire's late father, who had been killed in a car crash a few years before, was called Daniel.

"Of course, if you have something else in mind, it's okay," Claire whispered.

"No," Mac disagreed. "I think Daniel's perfect," he told her. "Daniel Taylor." Mac nodded his head. Claire smiled tiredly. "You need to rest," Mac said, standing up and pressing a kiss against Claire's lips. "I'll be here when you wake up," he swore.

"I love you," Claire murmured, closing her eyes and falling asleep.

"I love you too," Mac replied as he settled back into his chair, content on watching Claire sleep.

x

Mac smiled down at the boy he was holding in his arms. Daniel was looking back at him with wide blue eyes and a huge smile on his face, before he yawned widely.

"It looks like you need some sleep, Mister Taylor," Mac laughed. "Night, son," he whispered, pressing a kiss against Daniel's forehead. "Sleep well."

Mac smiled at the nurses that were in charge of the nursery where all the babies were sleeping as he set Daniel down for the night before heading back to the room where Claire was being kept for observation.

"Did he go to bed okay?" Claire asked softly, turning her head and seeing Mac enter the room.

Mac nodded his head. "He's sleeping peacefully," he assured her. "He's a surprisingly quiet baby," he shrugged, settling himself into the chair that he had been occupying ever since Daniel's birth two days ago.

"He's a good boy," Claire whispered, blowing a kiss at Mac before closing her eyes and falling into a peaceful sleep, with Mac shortly following suit.

x

Mac woke early the next morning when the door to the room opened. He groaned sleepily as he turned to face the nurse that had just entered the room. "Yes?" he asked when he saw her confused look.

The nurse turned to look at Mac before turning her gaze back to Claire, who was now stirring in bed.

Mac questioned her again and watched her pale before running out of the room quickly. Claire looked at Mac questioningly. Mac shrugged his shoulders and told her that he was going to check it out before leaving the room.

He headed over to where the nurse that had burst into their room was talking frantically into a phone. Mac stalked across the room and glared at her as she replaced the receiver. "What the hell is going on?" Mac demanded angrily.

The nurse shook her head, tears dripping down her face as she turned to look at the doctor that was now approaching them.

"Mr Taylor," the doctor began to say.

"What's going on?" Mac repeated angrily. "This woman just burst into my wife's room and won't tell me what's wrong!"

The doctor lifted a hand in an attempt to calm Mac. "Mr Taylor, please," he said softly. "If you would just calm down and let me explain." Mac glared at him once more before going quiet and allowing the doctor to speak further. "Earlier this morning the log for the nursery states that your wife took your son out of our care. Nurse Emily was merely checking if your son was with you and your wife."

Mac felt his stomach lurch. "Which he isn't. Are you telling me that my son isn't in the nursery and, since he isn't with me or my wife, that you don't know where he is?"

"Mr Taylor, please stay calm," the doctor tried to reassure Mac. "The police have already been informed of the situation and are already on their way here."

"Stay calm?" Mac repeated angrily. "How can I stay calm when you're standing in front of me, telling me that from right out under your nose, my son has been kidnapped?"

x

TBC


	2. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: see previous chapter._

Thicker than water

Chapter one

Mac leant back in his chair, thinking about the past. It had been twenty-six years since his son, Daniel, had been kidnapped right out from underneath everyone's noses in the hospital.

Twenty-six years and part of him had never given up hope. He knew that Daniel would now be an adult and there would, more than likely, be no way that he would be recognizable to Mac.

Mac had delayed his departure with the Marine's for another year after Daniel had been snatched from the hospital. The police had been brought in to investigate what had happened but their investigation had brought up nothing. There was no evidence of an outsider snatching his son and the case soon went cold, with no leads or witnesses there was nothing that would help them.

Mac's focus was brought back to the present when his phone rang shrilly. "Taylor," he greeted.

"_May I speak to Detective Taylor?" _a familiar female voice asked.

Mac laughed. "Well, that depends. You're not going to give me extra work are you?"

"_As a matter of fact," _Claire chuckled, "_I am. I'm instructing you to make sure you get home on time and spend a quiet evening alone with your wife tonight."_

Mac smiled and shook his head. "I think I might be able to manage that," he agreed. "I've got a meeting with my newest CSI and then I'm free all night." He told Claire that he would see her later that night and replaced the receiver, before a handsome young man appeared on the other side of the glass door to Mac's office. Mac waved the man in and got to his feet. "Mr Messer," he greeted, extending his hand across the desk.

"Detective Taylor," Danny Messer replied, putting his hand in Mac's briefly before sitting in the chair that Mac indicated on the opposite side of the desk. "Thanks for seeing me again."

Mac smiled and sat back in his seat. "It's not a problem," Mac replied, pulling a file towards him. "I've been looking over your application form and the notes I made during your interview." Danny shifted nervously in his seat. "If you're still interested I'd like to offer you the position of CSI level one," Mac finished.

Danny's eyes widened in surprise as he looked at Mac, trying to sense some kind of deception in the older man. "You serious?" he asked.

Mac laughed and nodded his head. "Completely serious," he told him. "You graduated top of your class at the academy, you have the smarts needed in New York to catch the criminals. I think you'll be a perfect addition to the team."

Danny grinned happily. "Thank you," he replied gratefully. "You won't be disappointed," he swore, looking Mac directly in the eye.

"I know," Mac smiled back at him. When Mac looked into Danny's eyes he felt a weird tug inside of him. It was the same kind of weird tug he felt whenever he thought about Daniel. He shook the feeling off as Danny signed his contract, telling himself that it was his mind running into overdrive because he was talking to someone with the same name as his son.

When Danny had left his office Mac reached under his shirt, pulling out his necklace. It was a Dog tag, similar to the ones he had worn in the Marines, that Claire had inscribed with Daniel's name and date of birth, so that they could always remember him.

He knew that he was imagining it, but the colour of Danny's eyes had reminded him so much of Daniel's that it was almost like he was looking directly at his son.

Mac reached for Danny's application form. His eyes went to where Danny had written his date of birth. His eye's widened when he saw that Danny had written that his birthday was August 24th and that he had been born in 1973 - the same date and year that Daniel had been born.

Mac closed the folder in wonderment. The scientist in Mac was telling him that things were lining up and all the arrows were indicating the same thing, but the rest of Mac was telling him that everything was just a coincidence and that there was no way that Danny could be _his _Daniel. Not after all the years he had been missing.

Mac sighed in annoyance as he closed the folder and got to his feet, grabbing his coat and heading home to be with Claire. He was going to wait to tell Claire about his suspicions. He didn't want to get her hopes up before he had any concrete proof and there was plenty of time to get that now.

x

TBC


	3. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: see previous chapters._

Thicker Than Water

Chapter 2

Mac looked down at the test results that were in his hands. It had been five years since he had met, and hired, Danny Messer and ever since then he had tried to find a legitimate reason to compare Danny's DNA to his own.

He had never managed to find a reason until then. Danny had been hit on the head at a scene, leaving behind a few droplets of blood. They had needed a reference sample from Danny to ensure that the blood didn't belong to their perpetrator.

The results of that test were what Mac was holding in his hands. Two years earlier Mac had also been injured at a scene and had also had to have his DNA tested. He had managed to keep a copy of his DNA break-up in his drawer, waiting for the moment that he could get a hand on Danny's.

Mac looked up at Danny, who was looking at him anxiously. "I'm disappointed in you, Danny," Mac said softly, lowering the papers he was looking at. "I specifically told you _not _to talk to IAB before we knew exactly what happened."

"I know," Danny whispered, lowering his head.

"You could have lost your job," Mac continued, almost as if he hadn't heard what Danny had said.

"I know," Danny repeated.

"The next time I give you an order I expect you to follow it."

"Damn it, Mac!" Danny shouted. "I know and I've already apologized for that. Jesus Christ, Mac! Don't you think I feel bad enough already. And, don't give me orders, you're not my father for gods sakes!" he cried.

"Yes, I am!" Mac shouted without thinking, unable to keep his emotions in check.

Danny opened his mouth to shout a reply back before his brain registered what Mac had just said. "I-What?" Danny asked in surprise, shaking his head.

Mac stared back at him for a moment as, he too, realised what had slipped out of his mouth. He sighed and lowered his head. "I _am _your father," he said softly, pushing the results across the desk towards Danny.

Danny looked down at the test results. "That's impossible," Danny whispered.

"Danny -,"

"No!" Danny shouted, jumping to his feet. "Those results are wrong. Someone screwed up."

"You know how likely that is in this lab," Mac reminded him softly.

"I don't care," Danny shook his head, heading towards the door. "There's no way."

Before Mac could stand up Danny fled the office, leaving him alone. "Well, Taylor," Mac muttered to himself, "you handled that well." He picked the file up again just as his phone rang. Mac sighed, knowing that there was no way he could go after Danny right then. He just hoped that when he was free he could find the young Criminalist.

x

Mac banged his head against the back of the car seat. He was kicking himself for acting so stupidly when his suspicions had been confirmed.

The gates to the cemetery opened and Mac slowly drove up to the turnaround. As he shut the engine off he noticed that there was already another car parked there. A car similar to the one that he knew Danny drove.

He was a few feet away from Claire's grave when he saw his missing CSI sitting on the bench that was opposite Claire's gravestone, his cell phone in hand.

"Danny?" Mac asked softly, slowly stepping up to where Danny was sitting.

Danny looked up in surprise, hastily wiping his hand across his cheeks, drying some tears, when he saw Mac. "How did you find me?" he asked quietly, moving to one side so that Mac could sit on the bench next to him.

"By accident," Mac admitted. "I've been trying to find you since you left the lab and you weren't answering your phone," he looked over at Danny's cell which was displaying that he had several missed calls. "This where I come to think."

Danny nodded his head. "You were telling the truth earlier, weren't you?"

"Of course I was," Mac replied. "I wouldn't lie about something like this, Danny."

"I called my mom…I mean…I…"

Mac shook his head. "I know what you mean," he assured Danny.

"I told her that I needed my original birth certificate for an application that needed to be sent off. She said that they only had a copy, that the original had been lost when I was a baby. It's probably been doctored anyway." Danny shook his head. "I don't know what to feel," he admitted.

"I can't blame you," Mac said softly, his eyes moving towards Claire's grave. "I did kind of drop a bombshell on you earlier."

"Just a little bit of one. What happened?" Danny whispered. "Didn't you want me or something?"

"Of course we did!" Mac said firmly, leaving no doubt in Danny's mind that he wasn't lying. "Me and Claire got married a week after we graduated from high school. I was about to ship out with the Marines when Claire told me that she was pregnant. I'll admit it, I was nervous at first. I mean I had only just turned eighteen, was married and had a kid on the way - what teenager wouldn't be overwhelmed by that? But when everything sunk in I was so happy. I called everyone I knew and told them."

Danny smiled as Mac continued. "You were three days old when you were taken," Mac told him. "I know it seems a little far fetched and hard to believe but it's true. The nursery at the hospital had a log book, when you were taking your child out you had to sign the book. Someone had taken you out of the nursery pretending to be Claire. By the time the doctors and nurses realised that you were missing the kidnapper was long gone with you."

"We tried every thing we could think of to find you. We were here visiting New York when you were born two weeks early. Claire and I still lived in Chicago. The police worked very hard to try and find you, but there was not one single piece of evidence that lead them to a suspect. The case eventually went cold. Claire and I never gave up hope though. We knew it was unlikely that we would ever find you again but I just couldn't give up."

Mac reached his head and unfastened the necklace that was around his neck. "Claire had these made," he said, placing the necklace in Danny's hand. "She wanted something so that we could remember you," he added.

Danny looked down at the Dog tag's that he was now holding. "_You_ named me Daniel?" he asked, seeing his name inscribed on the tags.

"Claire did," Mac told him. "Her father died when we were sixteen. You were named after him. I'm surprised they didn't change your name," Mac murmured.

"I don't know what to do," Danny admitted, leaning back against the bench. "My head's spinning. I mean, yesterday I was a Messer and now I've just found out that everything I've ever known was a lie and I'm really a Taylor. Did you… Is that why you hired me?"

Mac shook his head. "Of course it isn't," Mac assured him. "I hired you for the exact reasons that I told you. I didn't realise who you were until after I had offered you the job."

"How did you recognize me?" Danny asked. "I mean, I know I've definitely changed a lot since the last time you saw me."

"Your eyes," Mac replied softly, putting his hand under Danny's chin and turning Danny's head so that Mac could look into his blue eyes. "They're the same as Claire's."

Danny smiled, tears forming as he heard Mac comparing him to Claire. "You really miss her don't you?" Danny asked quietly.

"More than I ever thought was possible," Mac agreed. "But," he trailed off with a shake of his head. "Never mind."

"What?" Danny asked.

"It sounds weird," Mac said, "but after she died, seeing her in you made her death easier to cope with."

"Really?" Danny breathed. Mac nodded his head. "Thanks," he whispered.

"For what?" Mac asked in surprise.

"For telling me the truth," Danny replied. "Were you ever planning on telling me?"

Mac sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I wanted to," he told Danny. "Ever since I met you I've been trying to figure out how to find out the truth. But I knew that nothing short of DNA proof would make you believe me and there was no way I could manage to get that without you knowing."

"It is kind of hard to wrap my head around," Danny nodded. "I wish I could have met her," he whispered.

"I wish you could have as well," Mac replied. "I know she would have loved you, even without knowing the truth. She was a great judge of character."

x

TBC


	4. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: see previous chapters._

Thicker Than Water

Chapter three

Mac pulled his car up to the front of Danny's apartment building. He shivered and zipped his coat up further in an attempt to block out the cold. It was Sunday, two days after Mac had slipped up and told Danny the truth about his lineage. Mac hadn't seen Danny since they had parted ways at the cemetery.

Mac carefully grabbed the cardboard box he had placed on the passenger seat, setting it on the roof as he locked the car, before heading into the building.

There was no security man and the electrical buzzer and lock on the door was broken, leaving the door to swing back and forth in the cold wind. Danny lived on the fifth floor and there was no elevator, so Mac resigned himself to walking and headed up to the correct floor.

Mac knew that Danny lived at apartment 505 and that it was quite possibly the smallest apartment Mac had ever seen. The door opened before Mac could knock. Danny was zipping up a thick jacket and holding a thin package wrapped in light blue paper.

"Hey," Danny said in surprise, seeing Mac standing out in the hallway holding the box. "I was just coming to see you," he added, stepping aside and letting Mac into the apartment. "What's that?" Danny asked, indicating to the box that Mac placed on the coffee table.

"I was sorting through some things in the attic and found this," Mac said, putting a hand on the top of the box. "After Claire was killed I destroyed everything of hers. It was just too painful to know that there was something in the house that reminded me of her. I thought I'd got rid of everything but when I moved things in the attic, I found this. I must have over looked it."

Mac reached over and pulled the tape off of the box. Danny watched as Mac opened the box, revealing various belongings that clearly belonged to Claire. "I want you to keep them," Mac whispered, looking at Danny.

"Me?" Danny asked in surprise. He shook his head. "I can't take the last of her things from you," he argued.

"Yes, you can," Mac replied. "I got to spend everyday for so many years with Claire and you didn't. I want you to have everything in this box."

"Are you sure?" Danny asked, pulling out several coloured diaries with years in the seventies written on the front.

Mac nodded his head. "Positive," he agreed, smiling when Danny pulled out Claire's yearbook from high school.

"Thanks," Danny whispered, placing the book back in the box and grabbing the package he had set down when he had revealed Mac on the other side of the door. Danny hesitated before holding the package out to Mac. "Here."

"What it is?" Mac asked curiously. He carefully tore open the paper and revealed a leather bound photo album.

"I was given that when I graduated high school," Danny explained, pointing at the album. "I never really gave much thought to it. But, now I think you should have it."

Mac opened the book. The first page was blank but on the second page Mac saw that there was a picture of Danny underneath a heading that read _1 year old_.

"There's a picture of me on every birthday until I was eighteen," Danny said. "I never knew why there wasn't one on the first page, but it makes sense now."

Mac turned back the page and looked at the first page that had a header _birth_. "I think I might be able to make it complete," Mac murmured, putting the book to one side and reaching into the box of Claire's belongings. "Here." He pulled out a photograph of Claire holding a newborn Danny in her arms.

Danny gasped and looked down at the picture. "Is that… Claire?" he asked softly. "And me?"

Mac smiled, his own tears forming as he remembered taking the picture that Danny was looking at. "You were a few hours old when I took that," he told Danny. He carried on turning the pages in the book and frowned in surprise when he got to the last page and an envelope fell out.

"That's for you, as well," Danny blushed, lowering his head as Mac tore the envelope open and pulled out a greetings card.

" 'Happy fathers day'," Mac read off of the front of the card. "It's father's day today?"

Danny nodded his head. "I wanted to get you something. You know, to make up for never getting you anything," Danny shrugged.

Mac's tears fell as he opened the card and read that Danny hadn't addressed it to 'Mac', but instead had made it out to 'dad'.

"Danny, I…" Mac trailed off, shaking his head. "Thank you," he whispered, pulling Danny into a hug. Mac ran his hand through Danny's hair and pulled him closer as Mac felt Danny's tears on his shoulder. "It's okay," he whispered, trying to sooth Danny. He had no idea what was running through the young man's mind but he knew that when Danny was ready to tell him he would.

x

TBC


	5. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: See previous chapters._

Chapter Four

Danny growled in annoyance and hit the palm of his hand against the computer mouse. He had been trying to run the same fingerprint through AFIS for the past two hours and so far he didn't have any leads on the case. A young man and woman had been brutally murdered in their own home and Danny was determined that he was going to find out who did it.

His pager beeped, flashing a 911 message from Mac. More than welcome to get away from the computer screen, Danny jumped up and headed out of the lab towards Mac's office, leaving the computer alone to run the print.

"Please tell me you found something that's gonna help," Danny pleaded when he got to the open door of Mac's office. "I'm gonna go crazy if we don't find something soon."

Mac looked up from the computer screen and Danny immediately noticed the serious look on the former Marine's face. "What's wrong?" Danny asked.

Mac sighed and ushered Danny further into the office. "Close the door, Dan," he instructed. Danny frowned in confusion and stepped further into the room, letting the glass door fall closed behind him. "Here," Mac said, sliding a folder across the desk towards Danny.

"The blood samples we collected from the scene?" Danny asked, picking the folder up.

"Out of all the samples you collected only one of them wasn't the victims," Mac said, sitting down in his own chair opposite Danny.

"We get a match in CODIS?" Danny asked, opening the folder and flicking through the pages. "Wait," he interrupted before Mac could say anything, "the foreign DNA belongs to Vincenzo… Messer. 'Entered onto the system for an assault charge in '92. Was acquitted before prosecution'," he read. "Are you sure?" Danny asked.

"I got the lab to double check everything," Mac shrugged. "You know what this means, don't you?" Mac asked.

"There's a very real possibility that my father is involved in this," Danny sighed, throwing the folder down on to the desk. "Do you want me off of the case?" he asked.

Mac ran a hand over his face. "Officially, I'm reassigning you," Mac nodded. "But I also know that there is no way you're going to be able to sit in the background and just watch. Make sure that you don't process any evidence though." Danny laughed and nodded his head. "And make sure that no one knows. If it turns out the Messer's really are involved in this and it goes to court the DA will try to discredit any evidence you found if you work the case."

"Thanks," Danny smiled, getting to his feet and heading to the door. "I don't know if he knew the victims," Danny said before Mac could open his mouth.

"How did you know that I was going to ask that?" Mac smirked.

Danny grinned over his shoulder at him. "I just did," he shrugged before leaving the office to hunt down Flack so that they could go to lunch.

x

Danny watched through the two way mirror as Flack lead a handcuffed Vincenzo Messer into interrogation and forced him to sit down at the table. Danny looked up as Mac walked up to him. "Hey," Danny greeted. "Flack interrogating him?"

Mac nodded his head and handed Danny a folder. "I want you to help him out," he instructed Danny.

"What?" Danny asked in surprise. "Me?" Mac nodded his head. "I thought you said that you didn't want me to get involved on the case."

"I said that I don't want you to be involved in the collection of the evidence. All the evidence has been collected and processed, there's no worry about a conflict of interest. Get in there," Mac ordered, patting him on the shoulder.

Danny smiled at Mac and took the folder off of him. "Thanks, dad," he whispered before opening the door and entering the interrogation room.

"Flack," Danny greeted, crossing the room and sitting down opposite Vincenzo Messer and next to Flack.

"Danny?" Vincenzo asked in surprise when he saw his son enter the room. "What's going on, son?"

"Mr Messer," Danny said, ignoring Vincenzo's questions. "When was your daughter, Arianna, born?" he asked.

Vincenzo scowled. "What are you talking about?" he demanded. "You know when she was born," he snapped.

"Answer the question, Mr Messer," Flack instructed.

Vincenzo glared at the homicide detective, who wasn't fazed, before sighing. "She was born on September fifth 2003," he told them.

"At Angel of Mercy hospital, correct?" Danny asked.

"Yes," Vincenzo agreed.

"And you claim that your wife, Maria, was in labour for seventeen hours?"

Vincenzo nodded. "Please verbalise your answers, Mr Messer," Flack requested. Vincenzo glared but otherwise complied with Flack's instruction.

"You are already aware that we have a sample of your blood from Mr and Mrs Lianni's house where they were found murdered," Danny continued. "Their daughter was kidnapped a week after she had been born a little under three years ago. When their house was examined there was evidence that they had been expecting a child."

"We looked into their past, Mr Messer," Flack picked up. "They had a baby girl named Arianna Lianni. At the time our investigators looked into the kidnapping."

Danny quickly took over again. "A colleague of mine investigated and the only connection to a kidnapper that we had was a poorly recorded video tape from a security camera at the hospital. And the case went cold.

"Your DNA at the Lianni's house was enough to grant us a warrant to search your house." Danny held up a clear evidence bag containing a children's toothbrush. "We tested the DNA on this toothbrush."

"What gives you the right to do that?" Vincenzo demanded, getting to his feet and glaring at Danny.

Flack jumped up, putting himself in between Danny and Vincenzo. "Mr Messer, either sit back down or I'll make you," Flack warned.

Vincenzo glared at Flack, obviously trying to scare him but the young detective didn't even flinch. When he saw that he wasn't going to win the argument, Vincenzo sat back down.

"Our search warrant was for anything that might indicate a crime had taken place," Danny continued as if there had been no interruption. "Investigators took a sample of everyone's DNA from the house to differentiate between any samples found. When the results from this toothbrush," he indicated to the evidence bag, "came back, the DNA indicated that whoever used this brush is a close female relative of the Lianni's.

"Now, since there are only two female's who live in that house and this is a children's toothbrush, the simple deduction is that Arianna is the Lianni's daughter."

"This is bullshit," Vincenzo growled, shaking his head in annoyance.

"Actually, it's not bullshit, Mr Messer," Flack corrected. "We compared photo's of your wife that we found in your house to the footage from the hospital. Arianna _is _the Lianni's daughter. My guess is that your wife was supposed to snatch a child of someone from out of town. That way they couldn't be as involved in an investigation and the case would eventually go cold," Flack continued.

"When you found out that the Lianni's actually did live in New York, you hunted them down and eliminated them in case they knew that you were connected to Arianna's disappearance. The ironic thing is that no one knew you were connected to her in any way. Your paranoia got the best of you and you got sloppy." Danny closed the file in front of him.

"We've got you for murder as well as aiding and abetting a kidnapping," Flack informed him.

To everyone else's surprise, Danny leant across and pressed the stop button on the machine that was recording their interrogation.

"Danny, what are you doing?" Flack asked.

Danny waved his hand, silencing Flack. "There's something I need to talk to him about," he told Flack. "Don't worry this isn't related to the case and is completely off the record."

Flack sighed and threw a glimpse over his shoulder to where he knew Mac was watching through the mirror. Flack shrugged his shoulders before falling back into his chair and listening to what Danny had to say.

"I know the truth about who I am," Danny told Vincenzo quietly. Flack tossed Danny a curious look but the blond ignored him.

"What are you talking about?" Vincenzo snapped.

"I'm not a Messer," Danny continued. "Arianna's not the only member of our family that was kidnapped as a baby."

"You don't know what you're saying!" Vincenzo snarled, leaning forward.

"Mr Messer," Flack interrupted, "I warn you. If you even think about attacking Danny, I'll add another charge onto the list. Assaulting a police officer."

Danny put a hand on Flack's arm, "It's okay, Don," he assured the black haired man. "I know perfectly well what I'm saying." Danny turned his gaze back to Vincenzo. "You probably don't know but a year ago I was injured on the job. My DNA was tested. I don't know who did it but, either you or Maria kidnapped me from the hospital three days after I was born."

Flack looked at him in surprise, but Danny gave him a look that told Flack that the CSI would explain everything later.

"Why did you do it?" Danny asked.

"I'm not admitting to anything," Vincenzo said firmly.

"This is completely off the record," Danny replied. "I'm not interested in taking this further. I just want to know why."

"It was Maria that took you," Vincenzo said after a long pause. "It didn't have to happen. It was all that bitch's fault."

"Who?" Danny asked. "My real mom?"

Vincenzo nodded his head. "If she hadn't have crossed me I wouldn't have had to hurt her," Vincenzo spat.

"Are you trying to tell me that you kidnapped me for revenge on a woman you didn't even know?"

"Of course I knew her," Vincenzo snapped. "She embarrassed me in front of the whole school at our senior prom."

Danny frowned, he knew from Mac that Claire had gone to the same high school as Mac and they hadn't lived in New York until after Mac had left the Marine Corps. "What was her name?" he asked Vincenzo.

Vincenzo looked surprised. "I thought you knew her name."

"Just humour me," Danny instructed.

"Taylor Sinclair," Vincenzo sighed.

Danny froze. "Sinclair?" he repeated. Vincenzo nodded his head. "I think you should have hired a professional. Maria must have gotten confused in the hospital. My real mother is Claire Taylor."

Flack's head snapped up in surprise. "What?" he blurted out.

"Don't be ridiculous," Vincenzo argued. "You're the one that's confused. She took Sinclair's kid."

Danny picked the folder up and two sheets of paper that weren't attached to anything fell out. "What's that?" Flack asked, picking the papers up. His blue eyes widened when he looked at the information contained on the papers. "Where did this come from?" he asked, turning his head and looking up at Danny.

Danny smirked and rolled his eyes. He cocked his head in the direction of the mirror. Flack nodded his head, understanding what Danny meant. "This is my DNA and this is the DNA of my real father." Danny took the papers off of Flack and slid across the table towards Vincenzo.

"Now, I know you don't know the first thing about science," Danny said. "But let me tell you what this shows. The fact that half of my DNA sample matches this sample, shows that whoever this DNA belongs to is one of my biological parents. And this DNA does _not _belong to you or Maria. That also means that I spent twenty-seven years of my life to please my father and it's turns out that I was trying to please the wrong man."

Vincenzo glared at Danny but otherwise remained silent.

"Get him out of here," Danny instructed Flack who got to his feet and summoned a uniform into the room.

"Explains why nobody told me that Maria was pregnant in the year that I didn't see anyone in the family," Danny muttered to himself as Vincenzo was escorted out of the room.

"Were you ever planning on telling me about this?" Flack demanded angrily, grabbing the papers from where they were still lying on the table and waving them in Danny's face.

Danny sighed and lowered his head. Before he could say anything there was a knock on the door. Flack ushered the dark skinned woman inside. "Mr Messer," she said softly, "I think there's someone here who wants to see you." She looked down at the little girl that was holding her hand.

"Danny!" Arianna cried, seeing her big brother standing next to Flack.

Danny grinned and grabbed the black haired girl as she ran across the room and jumped into Danny's arms. "Hey there you!" Danny chuckled, resting the almost three year old on his hip.

"Hey, Arianna," Flack grinned at his friend's younger sister, running his hand over her long hair.

"Hi, Don," Arianna replied bashfully.

"Mr Messer?" the woman interrupted them. "May I have a word with you outside, please?"

Danny looked at Flack questioningly. "Arianna," Flack said, looking at the little girl in Danny's arms. "Will you keep me company for a while?" he suggested, his lips forming a pout that he knew the little girl wouldn't be able to resist.

Arianna smiled and nodded her head. "Thank you," Danny whispered, pressing a kiss on her forehead and handing her to Flack. "Thanks," he added, putting his hand on Flack's arm briefly before following the social worker out of the room.

"Mr Messer," the woman said as soon as the door had closed.

"Danny," he corrected her.

"Danny, we've been following this case as closely as the police department has. The Lianni's have no living relatives."

"Arianna is _not _being taken into foster care," Danny said firmly, looking through the window in the door. A smile spread across his face when he saw that Arianna was drawing something in Flack's notebook and explaining something in great detail to the homicide detective, who looked like he was trying his best to understand what she was telling him.

"I didn't think you would want that," the social worker smiled. "I'm releasing Arianna into your care until we can get a court date. You will need a representative who can inform the judge on whether they think you'd be a good parent."

"He's already got one," Mac's voice said from behind Danny.

Danny turned and looked at Mac in surprise. "I have?" he asked.

"You know you have," Mac replied, with a smile on his face, putting his hand on Danny's shoulder.

"Detective Taylor," the social worker greeted, extending her hand to Mac. "It's nice to finally meet you." Mac smiled and returned the greeting. "I assume that Arianna is in good hands?"

Danny nodded and thanked her before going back into the interrogation room. Flack looked up and smiled at Danny. "Everything okay?" he asked, patting Arianna on the top of her head as he got to his feet.

"Yeah," Danny replied. "The Lianni's don't have any living relatives, so…"

"What's going to happen to her?" Flack asked, looking at the little girl who was now looking up at them curiously.

"You're not sending me away are you, Danny?" Arianna asked fearfully.

Danny shook his head and scooped her up. "Of course I'm not sending you away," he said firmly. "I was just talking to the lady that brought you here and she said that you can come stay with me. If you want to, that is," he added.

"I can?" Arianna gasped, grinning when Danny nodded his head.

"And where is she going to sleep?" Flack asked. "Your apartment's barely bigger than this room," Flack reminded the CSI.

Danny shrugged his shoulders. "She can sleep in my bed and I'll sleep on the couch until I can find a bigger place. Come on, let's go," he said, heading towards the door.

Mac collected the file and followed Danny out, heading towards his office to finish off the paperwork on the case, a smile on his face as he watched his son disappear down the corridor with Arianna and Flack.

x

TBC


	6. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: See previous chapters._

Chapter 5

Danny groaned quietly as his hands went behind Don's head. He pulled Don's head closer, pressing their lips together. "Don't go," Danny practically pleaded, threading his fingers through Don's hair which was getting longer and longer and would soon need cutting again.

"I have to," Don replied, his hands running down Danny's back to cup his ass. "You may have managed to get the day off but I, unfortunately, still have to go to work."

Danny scowled. "Any idea when you'll be back?" he asked.

Don shrugged his shoulders. "After one shift hopefully," he replied, "you never know with New York." Danny chuckled and nodded his head. "I'll call you if I'm gonna be late," Don promised, kissing Danny passionately.

Danny kissed him back for a few moments before releasing him so that he could go to work.

"The funny thing about young children," Mac's voice said from the door that lead into the kitchen as soon as Don had left, "is that they don't realise that secrets are generally meant to stay secret."

Danny spun around in surprise. "What are you talking about?" he asked, trying to feign innocence.

Mac stepped further into the room. "I let myself in through the back and found my granddaughter at the table, 'boiling' water in her tea pot. When I asked her where you were she replied that you were in here saying goodbye to Don, but I'm not supposed to tell anyone that he spent the night. It's a secret," Mac added as the door opened again and Arianna entered the room, carefully carrying a tray with three cups on it and a children's tea pot, her tongue sticking out in concentration.

"Sit, daddy," Arianna instructed, setting the tray down on the coffee table.

Danny smiled to himself as he did as he was told and sat on the couch next to Mac. In the six months that had passed since Danny had been awarded custody of Arianna, he had used Vincenzo Messer's money to purchase a house for the pair of them. Arianna had stopped calling him 'Danny' and had taken to referring to him as 'daddy'.

"How long has Flack been spending the night?" Mac asked, the tone is his voice almost conversational as he accepted the small plastic cup that was supposed to be filled with tea, but in reality was only water.

"A little over ten months," Danny replied, sipping his 'tea' at Arianna's glare.

"You've been keeping something like that secret for almost a year?" Mac asked in surprise. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"Because I know how you're going to react," Danny replied tentatively, as if he was waiting for Mac to erupt angrily. "You're a Marine. I know what the military thinks about my _kind_." Danny's gaze wandered to Arianna, who had turned her back on the adults and was now watching cartoons on the television. "I guess I just don't want you to be disappointed in me," he sighed.

Mac lifted an eyebrow. "Danny," he said softly. "You're my son. I spent the first twenty-six years of your life not even knowing you. I'm not going to let something so stupid as who you want to date get between us now."

"You're just saying that," Danny argued.

"No, I'm not," Mac retorted. "I don't care, Danny. Who you want to date is your business, not mine. But are you sure that dating Flack is a good idea?" he asked. "I mean, inter-office relationships rarely work out. I just don't want to see you getting hurt."

Danny smiled at the concern he heard in Mac's voice. "It's worked fine for ten months," he shrugged. "The fact that we don't see each other every minute of every day might help."

"I hope your right," Mac whispered. He grinned when Arianna rose from the floor and climbed up into his lap. "Hey," he greeted.

Arianna grinned back at him, as she settled back against Mac's chest to continue watching cartoons. "Your tea's going cold, granddaddy," she said, noticing that Mac hadn't drunk his 'tea'.

"Sorry, sweetie," Mac replied, kissing Arianna on the top of her head before drinking out of the cup.

x

"Have you moved all day?" Don asked as soon as he walked through the door and saw Danny sitting in the armchair, a book in his lap. "You're in practically the same place that you were when I left."

"I moved a little," Danny shrugged. "Played with Barbie earlier and made something to eat."

"Sounds like you had a productive day," Don chuckled, moving the book off of Danny's lap and straddling the older man.

"It's my first day off in months," Danny replied, his hands resting on Don's hips, "what did you think I was going to do?"

"Well, it might have been nice of you to have dinner on the table for me when I got back," Don smirked, leaning down to kiss Danny softly.

Danny laughed and rolled his eyes. "Like _that's _going to happen anytime soon." Danny paused and looked away from Don. "Dad stopped by earlier," he said quietly.

"You don't seem too happy about that," Don observed.

"He saw you leaving this morning," Danny told him. "He knows about us now," he sighed.

Don's mouth formed a slight 'O'. "Did he kick off?" he asked quietly.

"I thought he was gonna, you know being a Marine and all," Danny replied with a shake of his head. "But he didn't say anything. Just that whoever I want to date is my business and not his. He said he just didn't want to see me get hurt," Danny shrugged.

"Well, he's got nothing to worry about there," Don replied with a smile. "At risk of sounding girly, you know I wouldn't hurt you. I… you know…" Don trailed off, smiling bashfully.

Danny smiled back at him and reached up, pulling Don's head down so that their lips met softly. "Me too," he whispered, deepening the kiss.

"Don!" Arianna cried, entering the room and seeing Don sitting in the chair with Danny.

Don pulled away from Danny and smiled down at Arianna as he slid off of Danny's lap. "Hey," he greeted, picking Arianna up. "Did you have a fun day today?" Don asked her.

Arianna nodded her head. "Daddy played Barbie with me," she told the detective. "Ken broke his leg."

Don frowned in confusion. "How did he do that?" Don asked Arianna.

Arianna shrugged her shoulders. "I went upstairs to get Barbie's car and daddy said that Ken decided to jump off of the side of the couch and broke his leg when he landed." Arianna wriggled her way out of Don's arms. "He's in bed upstairs, resting. I'm going to check on him," she decided. "Are you sleeping over tonight?" she asked, hugging Don's legs.

Don smiled down at her and nodded his head. "Probably." Arianna grinned at him and headed out of the room to go check on Ken. "You pulled the leg off of her doll!" Don accused Danny.

"What?" Danny asked defensively. "Have you ever seen a Ken doll? They're scary looking. Anatomically incorrect weirdo," Danny muttered. "Not that it makes a difference. She's got more toys in her bedroom that I had in my entire childhood." Danny slid off of the chair and stretched his arms above his head. "Since it's Friday and I'm too lazy to cook, I'm going to get a pizza from the take-out on the corner," he said, grabbing his wallet and phone from where they were lying next to the stereo. "Will you be okay watching Arianna?" he asked.

Don smiled and nodded his head. "We'll be fine," he assured Danny.

Danny grinned back at him and kissed him, before throwing on his jacket and heading out of the house.

x

Danny pushed the door open a short while later carrying two pizza boxes; a twelve inch pizza for him and Don and a six-inch one for Arianna.

Danny paused in the door to the sitting room with a smile on his face. Don was sitting on the couch and Arianna was lying next to him with her head in Don's lap, sleeping.

Don turned his head and smiled at Danny when he say he wasn't an intruder. "Hi."

"Hey," Danny replied softly, setting the pizza's down on the coffee table. "Ari," Danny whispered, shaking Arianna gently. "Wake up, sweetie. You've got a pizza all to yourself."

Arianna's brown eyes flickered open and she looked at Danny sleepily. "Pepperoni?" she asked.

Danny smiled and nodded his head. "With extra cheese. Your favourite."

Arianna grinned and sat up, pulling the pizza box closer to her.

"Careful," Danny cautioned, "it'll be hot."

Arianna nodded her head and leant closer to the pizza box, holding her black hair out of her face as she blew on her pizza in an attempt to cool the hot food before grabbing a slice and settling back on the couch to watch the Disney movie Danny had changed the channel to.

Danny smiled affectionately as he grabbed a slice for himself and moved so that his legs were across Don's lap. "Comfy?" Don smirked, taking a slice.

Danny wriggled a little in his seat before nodding his head. "I am now," he answered, making Don roll his eyes.

x

Danny was snoring. Don groaned in annoyance and put his pillow over his ears in an attempt to block out the sound. Even with the pillow he could still hear Danny's snoring. Normally Danny slept silently, barely stirring. More than once Don actually had to nudge Danny to make sure that he was still alive. But for some reason Danny was now making more noise than a drunken sailor.

Sighing Don tossed back the covers and got out of bed. He knew that there was no way he was going to get to sleep any time soon so he decided to go heat up a left over piece of pizza.

After heating up the pizza, Don sat down at the kitchen table to read yesterdays paper as he ate. When he headed back up to the bedroom, hoping that Danny had stopped snoring, he was surprised to find Arianna standing outside the bedroom door about to knock.

That was Danny's one rule in the house. Arianna knocked when she wanted to go into Danny's room and Danny did the same when he wanted to go into hers.

"Ari?" Don asked quietly, not wanting to startle the little girl. "Are you okay?" Don questioned in concern when he noticed the tears shining on Arianna's cheeks. Arianna shook her head, her black hair swaying with her movements. "What's wrong?" Don crouched down so that he was at eye level with her.

"I had a nightmare," Arianna whispered. She threw her arms around Don, catching him by surprise and almost knocking him over.

"Aww, sweetie," Don said, putting his arms around Arianna and picking her up. "It was just a nightmare," he said softly, running his hand over her back. "Everything's okay. But you need to go to sleep."

Arianna shook her head. "Stay with me, please?" she begged, tightening her arms around Don's neck, almost cutting off his air supply.

Don hesitated for barely a second before promising that he'd stay with her until she fell back asleep and heading down the corridor to Arianna's room, the door to which she'd left open.

"There we go," Don said softly, putting Arianna on the bed and covering her up with the covers.

"Will you read me a story?" Arianna asked, looking up at Don with wide brown eyes.

Don smiled and nodded his head. "Which one?" he asked.

Arianna pointed towards the bookcase on the opposite side of the room on Don got up to retrieve the book she was pointing at. "Once upon a time, in a kingdom far away, there lived a king and queen," Don started to read, Arianna listening to him intently.

x

Danny's blue eyes flickered open when he heard the door to the bedroom open. "Hey," he greeted sleepily. "You look knackered, where did you go?" Danny asked.

"You were snoring," Don scowled, tossing back the covers and climbing onto the bed. "I got up to get something to eat and when I came back up to bed Arianna was outside the bedroom."

Danny, whose eyes had drifted closed, cocked an eye open. "Why?" he asked.

"She had a nightmare," Don told him. "She's asleep again," he reassured Danny at the other man's concerned look. "Poor thing only managed to last five pages into Sleeping Beauty before she fell asleep."

Danny smiled and shifted closer to Don, curling his warm frame around Don. "She really likes you, you know?" he asked sleepily.

"She's a gorgeous little girl," Don replied, kissing the top of Danny's head. "Night, Danny," he whispered, drifting off to sleep.

x

TBC


	7. Epliogue

_Disclaimer: See previous chapters._

Thicker Than Water

Epilogue

Danny looked out sadly across the cemetery. It was a warm day, sunny and bright, but despite that he felt cold. Very cold. Danny watched Arianna lean down and place a red rose on the tombstone. "I miss you, daddy," he heard her whisper before she was ushered away by her husband and son.

"Dan," Don's voice said from behind him.

Danny turned around and a happy smile replaced the sad one that he had been previously wearing. "Don?" he whispered, seeing that his lover was standing behind him. Don looked so much different to Danny. The last time Danny had seen Don alive he had been an old man of ninety-three and now, as he stood in front of him, Don looked like he was thirty-five again. "Oh God," Danny breathed, taking the few steps it took to reach Don, "I've missed you so much," Danny added, tears falling from his eyes as he embraced and kissed Don.

"I missed you too," Don replied, kissing Danny back. "Ari will be okay, you know?" he whispered, pressing his lips against Danny's temple.

"I know," Danny sighed. "She's got a wonderful family looking after her."

"Danny?" another familiar voice asked.

Danny lifted his head and saw Mac standing a few feet away from him. "Dad!" Danny exclaimed, throwing himself into Mac's arms. "I can't believe you're really here," he whispered, burying his face in Mac's shoulder. It had been close to thirty years since Mac had passed away and ever since, Danny had made a point of visiting his grave as often as he could.

"There's someone who's been waiting a _very _long time to meet you," Mac said quietly, pulling away from Danny and holding his hand out.

Danny watched as a hand materialised in Mac's, shortly followed by the body of a beautiful woman. A woman Danny recognised from photographs. With her blonde hair and blue eyes the woman looking back at him could only be one person.

"Mom?" Danny whispered, more tears falling when she nodded her head.

"Hello, Danny," Claire replied softly, taking a few steps closer to Danny.

"Mom," he repeated, throwing his arms around Claire and hugging her tightly. "I can't believe this," he whispered, burying his face in Claire's shoulder and inhaling her scent, while seemed different and familiar all at once.

Claire pressed a soft kiss against the top of Danny's head. "I missed you, baby," she murmured against his hair.

"I missed you too," Danny whispered, not lifting his head from her shoulder.

Claire put her hand under Danny's chin, forcing her son to lift his head so she could look into his blue eyes. "You're so handsome," she whispered, grinning at him through her tears.

Danny blushed. "Have you..." he shook his head before trying again. "Do you know what's happened? Since, you know..."

Claire smiled and nodded her head. "I've been watching over you ever since. I'm so proud of you. Raising Arianna the way you did. Becoming supervisor. Everything."

Danny smiled through his own tears. "Thanks, mom," he whispered.

Claire pressed a soft kiss on Danny's cheek. "Are you ready to go now?"

Danny looked over his shoulder at the gravestone that bore his name. "Yeah," he whispered.

Don, who had been quietly talking to Mac, reached out and took Danny's hand in his. Claire lopped her arm around Danny's, while Mac took her other hand in his.

Arianna paused in the gateway to the cemetery and looked back. She smiled when saw four figures standing a few feets away from Danny's gravestone. She knew that three of them were Don, Danny and Mac and she recognized Claire from photographs Danny had shown her growing up.

"Rest in peace, daddy," she whispered as they started to fade.

Before they disappeared Don turned to face her. He smiled and waved at her with the hand that wasn't holding Danny's.

Arianna grinned back at him as she waved and blew a kiss at him. She chuckled at the surprised look on Don's face before they disappeared completely, leaving the graveyard empty once more.

The End


End file.
